Upper Marlboro, MD - Eight championships were awarded today at the Capital Challenge Horse Show, honoring the best hunters in the country. Sandy Ferrell piloted Showman, owned by Krista and Alexa Weisman, to the championship in the $9,000 Second Year Green Working Hunters. In the $10,000 High Performance Hunters, Hunt Tosh and Dr. Betsee Parker's Rosalynn earned the top tricolor. Along with those two rated divisions, championships were given in five Future Hunter divisions and the...

Bridgehampton, NY - The Hampton Classic Horse Show is spending Monday and Tuesday rebuilding 18 stabling tents with 1600 stalls plus 40 boutique and VIP tents in anticipation of the rescheduled start of the horse show on Wednesday. To ensure the safety of everyone in anticipation of Hurricane Irene, everything had been taken down on Friday and Saturday and the horse show put out the word that no horses would be allowed at the show grounds before Tuesday. A massive collective effort is getting...

Darragh Kenny of Ireland and Obelix won the $30,000 Manchester and the Mountains Grand Prix, Presented by Hand Motors at the Vermont Summer Festival (David Mullinix Photography). East Dorset, VT — Darragh Kenny of Ireland and Obelix were the dampened but undaunted winners of the $30,000 Manchester and the Mountains Grand Prix, Presented by Hand Motors, on Sunday, August 7, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. The six-week equestrian competition is running at Harold...

Darren Graziano of Brewster, NY, and Vernal won the $30,000 Mount Equinox Grand Prix on Sunday, July 31, at the Vermont Summer Festival (David Mullinix Photography). East Dorset, VT — Darren Graziano of Brewster, NY, and his young mount Vernal bested a field of 21 to claim victory in the $30,000 Mount Equinox Grand Prix on Sunday, July 31, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, Vermont. The six-week equestrian competition is running at Harold Beebe Farm from July 6...

Well, we finally made it to Lexington yesterday around noon. My dad and I came as the “advance crew” to make sure everything would be ready for our team’s horses when they got here. We got all the bedding and the stall signs put up and everything else we could think of. Mr. Randy had an ETA of around 1 A.M. As it sometimes happens, things did not go quite according to plan. They rolled into the park around 5 o’clock this morning, exhausted from the all-night drive. So,...

Carson Kressley at Devon Horse Show. Devon, PA - Carson Kressley grew up near Devon outside of Allentown, PA, and has always had Saddlebred horses in his life. And quite frankly, wouldn't have it any other way. "I was really fortunate my family was in the Hackney Pony business. My Grandparents started in the 50's and my grandmother bought my dad a pony because he wanted one...but he really didn't want one, she wanted one. Then by the 70's the whole big pony boom they had about...

Lexington, KY - Building on the success of National Helmet Awareness Day 2010, the popular helmet awareness campaign Riders4Helmets.com has announced plans to host International Helmet Awareness Day 2011 on Saturday, June 11. Riders4Helmets has teamed up with leading helmet manufacturers to offer discounts on helmets to equestrians via participating retailers globally on this day. More than 300 retailers in the U.S. and eight retailers Internationally offered discounts on helmets from eight...

Award-winning course designer Anthony D'Ambrosio. (Photo by Kenneth Kraus.) Hampton Falls, NH - A new course designer at the 2011 Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic, featuring the $75,000 Grand Prix, will challenge competitors this year on the grass Grand Prix and Derby field. Award-winning course designer Anthony D'Ambrosio will be testing the top riders in the high performance classes to be held at Silver Oak Equestrian Center, Hampton Falls, NH, September 14-18. A sanctioned FEI course...

Karen Jenkins in Spain with Jenson, Ofendido VII's sire. (Photo courtesy Karen Jenkins.) Ocala, FL - When Karen Jenkins demanded her own pony at age five, her unsure parents insisted on riding lessons. Years of instruction and various horses later, they knew horses were in her blood – and not going anywhere. “My parents insisted that if I had a horse, I had to take care of it myself,” said Jenkins, who now is 73. “I think they became resigned to the fact that I was dedicated to making horses a...

Todd Minikus and Pavarotti. (Photo by Sportfot©.) Wellington, FL - After missing the beginning of the 2011 show circuit due to a shattered collarbone, Todd Minikus (USA) made his return to the winner's circle at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) today riding Pavarotti to a victory in the $31,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 10. This was the pair's second time back in the ring this season and they made it look easy with two fast and faultless rounds. The FTI WEF's tenth week of competition,...